A STRONG STORM SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP OFF THE CALIFORNIA
COAST BY MIDWEEK.
THIS STORM WILL BEGIN TO SPREAD RAIN INTO THE
NORTH BAY BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. HEAVY RAIN WILL THEN LIKELY
DEVELOP IN THE NORTH BAY ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE STORM SYSTEM
BEGINS TO PUSH INLAND. A BAND OF HEAVY RAIN IS THEN FORECAST TO
SHIFT SLOWLY SOUTH THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY
AREA LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...AND THEN SOUTH INTO THE
MONTEREY BAY AREA AND CENTRAL COAST FROM MIDDAY THURSDAY THROUGH
THURSDAY EVENING. RAINFALL WILL BEGIN TO TAPER OFF BY THURSDAY
NIGHT...BUT SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING.
RAINFALL TOTALS WITH THIS STORM FROM LATE WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
ARE CURRENTLY PROJECTED TO RANGE FROM 1 TO 4 INCHES IN URBAN AREAS
AND AT LOWER ELEVATIONS IN GENERAL...AND FROM 5 TO 8 INCHES IN
THE HILLS. LOCALLY HIGHER RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE
NORTH BAY COASTAL MOUNTAINS...THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS...AND THE
SANTA LUCIAS.
RECENT SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL HAS SATURATED THE SOILS ACROSS THE
REGION. HEAVY RAIN WITH THIS UPCOMING STORM WILL THEREFORE RESULT
IN MINOR FLOODING OF LOW LYING AND POORLY DRAINED AREAS...AS WELL
AS RAPID RISES ON AREA STREAMS AND CREEKS.
IF HEAVY RAINFALL PERSISTS FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME...MORE WIDESPREAD AND SIGNIFICANT FLOODING WILL RESULT.
IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAINFALL WILL RESULT IN MUD SLIDES AND DEBRIS FLOWS IN AREAS OF STEEP TERRAIN.
THIS STORM IS ALSO FORECAST TO PRODUCE STRONG AND POTENTIALLY
DAMAGING WINDS. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE ON WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON AND BECOME STRONG AND GUSTY BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
STRONGEST WINDS ARE CURRENTLY EXPECTED FROM LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT
THROUGH MIDDAY THURSDAY. DURING THIS TIME...WIDESPREAD WINDS
GUSTS OF UP TO 50 MPH ARE LIKELY AND LOCAL WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 70
MPH ARE POSSIBLE NEAR THE COAST AND IN THE HILLS. WIND SPEEDS OF
THIS MAGNITUDE WILL TOPPLE TREES AND BRING DOWN POWER LINES.
WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES ARE LIKELY.
THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL GENERATE LARGE WAVES OFFSHORE...WHICH WILL
BEGIN TO BREAK ALONG OUR COAST BY MIDWEEK. HEAVY SURF WILL THEN
CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK.
ANYONE LIVING IN...OR TRAVELING TO...THE SAN FRANCISCO AND
MONTEREY BAY AREAS LATER THIS WEEK SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR STORMY
CONDITIONS WITH PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WINDS.
TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES ARE LIKELY DUE TO SLICK ROADWAYS...ROADWAY
FLOODING AND AIRPORT DELAYS. LIGHTWEIGHT OUTDOOR ITEMS SHOULD BE
SECURED TO PREVENT THEM FROM BEING BLOWN ABOUT BY THE STRONG
WINDS.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS FOR UPDATES ON
THIS UPCOMING STORM AT http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/
